Universal Twist: Continued
by Dark Diamond 16
Summary: When Ben, Gwen, Kevin and Albedo are forced to team up during a series of dangerous attacks, they are in for a lot of trouble. A bumpy ride is inevitable, but will they defeat the villain, or themselves?
1. Chapter 1

.. _.hello. This is Dark Diamond 16, formerly known as Dark Diamond 13, before my account royally screwed itself over. This is a continuation of my story Universal Twist, which you can see the start of on my old account. I have other ideas in mind, but this thing has been bussing around my head for the past year. Now I'm finally getting it back on track._

 _Bear with me. I'm typing on phone, and I pray that Microsoft Word has good spellcheck. All mistakes are mine and Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network. This story starts some time after the end of Ultimate Alien, but it's not Omniverse. My own continuation, more of. I plan to include some elements of it, though! Now, on with the story!_

...--...

 **Chapt** **er One**

The atmosphere in the Rustbucket was thick with tension. It was a completely evil amount of tension considering that it was early morning, but it was still there.

Albedo stared out if the window on his right, his face looking completely detached from his surroundings. He was sitting in the rear seat of the old RV, and pointedly ignoring the old man driving it. He spared a quick glance at Maxwell Tennyson, and his eyes narrowed slightly. The old man continued to drive to the required destination, acting for all the world like a bus driver.

However, he knew that the silence was meant to drive him to talk. After he started talking, his words would be picked to pieces for any hidden meanings. He knew Azmuth well; the older Galvan would be very careful in decisions like this particular one. And even if he hadn't known Maxwell wasn't a high-ranked Plumber for nothing. By that stage, he'd be able to analyze body language and speaking patterns like nobody's business.

That was the reason he refused to talk.

He mentally shrugged. He could at least get something to do. The silence was conducive for working, at the very least.

The tension thickened as Albedo got out his laptop from his backpack. As he started it, Max knew that if he didn't initiate the conversation himself, it would never happen at all. And if even half of what Azmuth was planning came to pass, the boy would be learning to talk by force. It was better to ease him into it.

"I'm guessing you've been piecing together what Azmuth is planning, Albedo," Max said.

Albedo looked up briefly from his laptop. "Yes." His voice was clipped, and he immediately went back to work.

"And it's obvious you don't like it."

"The problem is that I have absolutely no choice in the matter. I've already accepted that. So now I've gotten this out in the air, mind telling me what the point of this is?"

Albedo's voice was dry and he looked like the perfect example of a poker face. As he started typing, he looked up and directly at a rearview mirror, giving Max a clear view of his bland expression. He looked back at what he was doing a second later. It may have been brief, but Max should have gotten a clear view of it.

"You should know that." Max's voice was carefully guarded. He had no idea what the boy had been trying to prove, but it couldn't be anything good.

"Please. I'm till figuring out just why I'm not still in prison by this point. There is truly no reasonable explanation that I can think of for this."

"You're not the only one with that opinion."

"Yes, Maxwell, I know that your grandson and his little team have the same mindset as I do. It makes very little sense that you're actually taking me to Bellwood, now that I think of it. You're acting entirely on Azmuth's wishes, aren't you?"

Max said nothing. He seemed to piecing things together quickly, but did he get the full picture? Azmuth had said that his former assistant worked better under predictable circumstances in familiar environments. But this was far from his regular environment.

However, all the misadventures he'd had could have made sure he was better at thinking on his feet.

"This is all meant to ensure that I have a low chance of escape, correct." Albedo said. He didn't ask, he stated it.

 _Speak of the devil,_ Max thought. "Yes. You're still a wild card in this situation."

 _No frills, no fuss. Azmuth did pick the right person for this._ "So, you're handing me off to your grandson's friend. If I didn't know any better, this was some sort of elaborate test. I'm very sure that his little team would fail the emotional control section when they hear this news."

"They're having a formal discussion on it later today."

Albedo smirked. "I can imagine that the reception will not be favorable."

Max kept quiet. It definitely wouldn't be received well, but apparently, his passenger could already detect that.

The pair relapsed into a slightly less antagonistic silence, though each side could still perceive the mistrust and speculation.

...--...

If the atmosphere in the Rustbucket was tense, the atmosphere in Kevin's garage was simply explosive. Max had received the message with little argument, knowing that Azmuth would know what he was doing, even if he didn't personally agree.

Less could be said for Ben, Gwen and Kevin.

"Are you joking? You have to be joking, Azmuth. How is Albedo supposed to help in any of this? We're talking about a crime spree, not mad science!" Ben glared at the holographic representation of the Galvan hovering over the Omnitrix.

"I have to agree with Ben there," Gwen replied. "These crimes have very little to do with him."

"Sure it has anything to do with Albedo himself, or what he was doing?" Kevin asked. Ben and Gwen turned to look at him. He was leaning against his car, while Ben and Gwen were closer to the wall in front of him.

"Think about it. He's good with tech, and he can actually plan out his schedule well. He managed to create a knockoff Omnitrix, for one, and team up with Vilgax for a second. Really, change a few bad decisions, and we could still be running around trying to get at him.

"The crimes going on lately aren't exactly average. Tech going missing from high-security vaults, important figures getting either kidnapped or killed, and these mass raids…" he shook his head. "This is too widespread for some nobody gangs to have cooked up."

Azmuth nodded. "I trust that Albedo has some contacts around that specific crime niche. And even if he didn't, he would still be able to navigate through it almost as easily as Kevin could." That was high praise, seeing as Kevin was particularly well-known in criminal circles.

"Besides, some of my contacts have been talking about a parole on some weird circumstances. It was covered up pretty heavily, and it's like other inmates in the same prison have been bribed to keep their mouths shut." Kevin crossed his arms.

"Why?" Ben asked. "What, does he have anyone targeting him?"

"Tennyson, as soon as you've been into crime, someone practically always has your name on their radar. Even petty thieves could find themselves being monitored by higher-tier crooks."

"Who would possibly target him? He's a nobody!"

"I was, too, and l got the chance to team up with Vilgax of all people, because we had a common goal. It's not really the person, it's how they end up. And you might remember he built a knockoff Omnitrix. If he didn't have connections, how'd he gotten the materials to make it?"

Silence reigned for a few seconds.

"Fine." Ben relented. "But, really, are things that bad right now?"

"When most planets in this galaxy have gone into high lockdown?" Azmuth asked. "With the fact that Earth has started the process to becoming a free system, it is soon going to become one of the biggest vacation spots in recent years. It is a planet rich in valuable resources and a society almost untouched by galactic attitudes and technology." he paused, letting it sink in.

"That sounds good, doesn't it? But it isn't completely. Rebel groups from other planets could turn it into their meeting base. Then, when the government is hunting them down, the planet could be implicated for housing terrorists. Unknowingly or not, that will not matter. Illegal mines and factories could be set up. Earth could become a pathway for smuggling to go undetected.

"Also, remember that humans are weak compared to other alien species, with a near-total lack of abilities. Some of the more barbaric species could exploit that. There is already a portion of your society guilty of human trafficking. It could be extended to other planets, and woe betide the victims. Intergalavtic alien trafficking is far worse than whatever your planet could offer up." At that, they went pale.

"This is not just about my former apprentice. This concerns your entire planet."

They were silent.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

For the past few months, the Plumbers had been spreading themselves thin across the galaxy. It had all started when an anonymous threat letter had been sent to and well-known Cerebrocrustacean politician, telling him to step down. It had all been treated as nothing important, until the politician had been found dead a week later. Things had devolved from there as his opponent was found killed as well.

Then the robberies started happening, on the Apoplexian home world. They stared out minor, until items worth millions of Taydenite were simply gone without a trace, without evidence. Then other planets erupted into this chaos, things slowly devolving to the point that nobody could safely go out without having at least three hidden weapons on their person.

Planets line the Incursean home world, Galvan Prime, Earth and Galvan B were relatively safe. However, Khoros and Incursia were looked at with suspicion. Those planets weren't exactly the poster children for peace.

Patrols had been put on a three-days-a-week basis for Ben, Gwen and Kevin, merely for the fact that two out of the three were still in school. However, that was the official term for it. Kevin still patrolled twice a day, all week.

He sighed as he walked into his house. The evening patrol had finished, and he was looking forward to relaxing after it. Nothing suspicious had turned up, and though he was hopeful it would stay that way, he knew that baseless optimism would be completely ridiculous.

He went to the kitchen, looking for something to eat while he called up some of his regular informants. As he looked through it, he noticed that something was missing. He quickly scanned through again, and saw it.

The grapes were missing.

That was a reminder of the unwelcome guest who was currently occupying a formerly unused room upstairs. Most of the time he tried to forget that the guy was there, or just outright ignored him. The thing was that he didn't really _have_ to ignore him; the former Galvan mainly kept to himself as a matter of principle. The most he was reminded of him was when food would disappear from the fridge, or something had been moved. Apart from that, he was invisible.

Kevin scowled. Had Azmuth been right? All that Albedo had been doing was freeloading, for the past two weeks. Was he as good as Azmuth gave him credit for?

He blinked, then turned back so quickly that he almost got whiplash.

 _What?_ "How did you get behind me?"

Albedo looked at him with an unnervingly blank stare. "I have legs, and they are fully functional. I just came to ask you a question."

"What is it?"

"During patrol, did you check on the southwest part of the city? The deeper back alleys?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you here? You should know that weapons deal and drug trafficking would be easy to hold there."

"What's your point?"

"There's a spaceship entering the Earth's orbit, which isn't registered as legal, heading towards that area."

A second passed. Then two. Then…

" _What?_ "

"Don't you check your Plumber's badge? You should have easier access to this information than I do."

Kevin checked his Plumbers badge, and, sure enough, it was true.

"How did you-"

"Call it instinct. I've been looking over the system a lot myself, and this is the first time for quite a while that this planet has had illegal extraterrestrial contact."

"Crap… how the hell did this happen?"

Albedo shrugged. "It can't be coincidence, can it? The timing is too perfect."

Kevin thought quickly. "You hacked the system, right? You can track it as long as you have a signal."

"Yes."

"Get your laptop and get into the car. You keep tracking it, and I'll call in reinforcements."

"Fine."

…-…

Ben, Gwen and Kevin had developed a simple communication system for when they were on missions, in different locations without access to their phones or simply unable to talk physically. It was a telepathic link.

The thing was, it had been a while since they'd used it. Therefore, Ben and Gwen had been completely unprepared for it.

Ben had finished his homework and was playing an intense Sumo Slammers game. Gwen had finished studying and had been meditating.

When each originally heard the message, both had promptly dropped to the floor. Upon hearing the contents, their eyes had widened. Each then used a strong expletive, and they'd immediately headed out.

The communication within the link was soon flowing quickly. Ben was flying as Jetray while Gwen was using a flight spell, and both were flying at breakneck speed.

 _"Alright, so this could be anything from drug dealing to illegal weapons trading,"_ Ben said through the link. _"What are we dealing with here, apart from lasers?"_

 _"Knives, and probably some energy bombs,"_ Kevin replied. _"They could also throw out a destabilizer."_

 _"Destabilizer? What's that?"_ Gwen asked.

" _A device that shorts out any electronic devices within a specific area. There are plenty of different types, so its almost impossible to guess what we'll be dealing with, at least until smartass here finishes analyzing the ship."_ Kevin said.

 _"Could the destabilizers affect the Omnitrix?"_ Ben asked.

 _"It depends. If it just shoots of electricity and short-circuits the machines, it could be out for a while, but it would probably spring back quickly. If it interferes with signals, it could stop you from transforming. If it tries to change the electronic frequencies, then it could either get serious backslash, or flat out deactivate it."_

Ben paused, then groaned. _"And you're saying that these are freely sold without restrictions?"_

 _"Pretty much, yeah."_

 _"Fan-fucking-tastic."_

 _"Do we have anything else to worry about?"_ Gwen asked.

 _"It's all pretty variable, at least until our resident analyst is finished. Speaking of him…_ Are you done yet?" He switched from mind-speaking to talking physically.

Albedo's attention seemed to be stuck to the computer, but he still heard the question.

"It's a Trixac-16. Small and sleek, but it can carry a lot of baggage, and take a lot of punishment. This one is outfitted with at least twenty laser cannons, with most of them hidden. Only around four should be visible. There should be a good stock of drop-bombs on it, probably around Level Six… and there should be some old-fashioned blade throwers. Around ten. And those are the inbuilt weapons, the owner should have made countless additions to it" he recited it all calmly, as if he was a bored sales attendant rambling on about the features of a new product.

Kevin paled. That recitation of facts was enough to scare the living daylights out of any technology aficionado. He looked at the reflection of Albedo in one of the side mirrors. "A Trixac-16."

"The latest Trixac combat ship," he affirmed, sounding distracted.

Kevin decided to cut to the basics. " _The same ship that costs twenty million taydenite,_ _ **at the lowest price.**_ "

It hit home. "…yes. _That_ ship." Albedo looked up, then looked back down at the information flooding the laptop screen with an unreadable expression on his face.

"We're fucked," Kevin said, hitting the steering wheel. Then he stepped even harder on the gas pedal. _"Guys, I have some bad news about this one."_

 _"What is it?"_ Gwen asked.

 _"The ship is one of the latest combat models, and it's heavily armed. On the scale let, the technology on it should be around Level 12."_

 _"…Earth is only around Level 3,"_ Gwen said, paling.

 _"How much can that thing destroy, Kevin?"_ Ben asked.

 _"A lower level blast from it could fry Texas."_

There was some momentary silence as the rest of the team processed that.

Then Gwen spoke. _"Brace yourselves."_ That was the only warning they got as Gwen reached out to them with her mana, looking for Ben and Kevin and pinpointing their locations. Mana surrounded them, as well as herself, and in a flash of pink light, they were instantly teleported to the area.

Gwen quickly crouched, holding her head. She'd gotten better with magic, but teleportation was still a bit rusty. It still gave her a headache, but only when it was particularly long-distance.

The Omnitrix powered down, and Ben looked up at the sky, scanning it. It didn't take long to locate the spaceship, seeing how big it was, and how fast it was going. Honestly, it could be mistaken for a falling star, except for the fact that it was coming down so fast.

Kevin stepped out of his car, and looked at the spaceship. Indeed, it was coming here, and fast. From inside the car, Albedo looked out at it, then returned his focus to the computer, and began typing furiously.

The tense silence lasted for a few seconds, until Ben asked a question.

"Now what?" Kevin and Gwen looked at him, and he looked back at them. Then they all turned to Albedo.

He continued typing, even as he spoke. "The most sensible thing to do would be to look for shelter. Since it appears that no other spacecraft is entering the planet's atmosphere, it would be wise to assume that this is some kind of illegal deal, and that the other participant has been waiting on this planet for this occasion. Not it would Intruders be unwanted, they would be quickly eliminated."

"So, genius, and ideas for where to hide?"

"Yes, actually. There should be some rundown buildings around this vicinity. One in particular seems to have an open window and a broken door. We could observe the proceedings safely from there."

"How the… you didn't even look up from your laptop!"

"Oh, dear Benjamin," Albedo drawled, looking up at Ben with a too-bright grin, "have you ever heard of drones?"

…-…

They got there quickly, after parking Kevin's car some distance away to avoid detection. Gwen also cast a stealth spell on them to doubly ensure that they wouldn't be detected.

They had a clear view of the area they were in, and they silently observed as the spaceship came even closer, its heavily armored form becoming clearer.

"A truck is coming," Albedo said softly. Ben, Gwen and Kevin looked back at him. He looked intensely focused. "From my drone's scanners, it looks like there is nothing in it but Taydenite. And if it's that hefty, it has to be for weapons. Any drugs that would cost that much would have an even more heavily armored ship.

"Which alien on this planet would want this many weapons on this planet? And even if it isn't about quantity, the quality would be at least the low-military tier. Who would need such weapons? Would it be humans looking for weapons to fight with?" he arched an eyebrow, looking at the information beaming in from the scanners. The metal of the truck seemed specially made to scramble signals sent at it, so he couldn't pinpoint just who, or what was driving it.

"No spacecraft has entered the planet's atmosphere for a good while, so the buyers need to have been on this planet already. I've heard of some small-time crook who handles a few deals, but that rat can't do anything like this. That means that it has to be a human threat and a large organization at that."

He looked up at the others. "Any ideas? The group needs to be quite bloodthirsty for this. In fact, if I didn't know any batter, they were trying to eliminate something. Or maybe some _things,_ plural."

"Eliminating stuff, huh?" Kevin looked at Ben and Gwen. "Doesn't that sound familiar to you?"

"Eliminating…" Gwen didn't finish, as she closed her eyes and put a hand over her forehead.

"The Forever Knights," Ben groaned.

* * *

 _Aaand, CUT! How did you like this chapter, and how do you thing that our favorite characters will deal with it? Share your opinions in the comments, and also let me know if anything needs improving._

 __DD16, out!__


	3. Chapter 3

.. _.hello. This is Dark Diamond 16, formerly known as Dark Diamond 13, before my account royally screwed itself over. This is a continuation of my story Universal Twist, which you can see the start of on my old account. I have other ideas in mind, but this thing has been bussing around my head for the past year. Now I'm finally getting it back on track._

 _Bear with me. I'm typing on phone, and I pray that Microsoft Word has good spellcheck. All mistakes are mine and Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network. This story starts some time after the end of Ultimate Alien, but it's not Omniverse. My own continuation, more of. I plan to include some elements of it, though! Now, on with the story!_

...--...

 **Chapt** **er One**

The atmosphere in the Rustbucket was thick with tension. It was a completely evil amount of tension considering that it was early morning, but it was still there.

Albedo stared out if the window on his right, his face looking completely detached from his surroundings. He was sitting in the rear seat of the old RV, and pointedly ignoring the old man driving it. He spared a quick glance at Maxwell Tennyson, and his eyes narrowed slightly. The old man continued to drive to the required destination, acting for all the world like a bus driver.

However, he knew that the silence was meant to drive him to talk. After he started talking, his words would be picked to pieces for any hidden meanings. He knew Azmuth well; the older Galvan would be very careful in decisions like this particular one. And even if he hadn't known Maxwell wasn't a high-ranked Plumber for nothing. By that stage, he'd be able to analyze body language and speaking patterns like nobody's business.

That was the reason he refused to talk.

He mentally shrugged. He could at least get something to do. The silence was conducive for working, at the very least.

The tension thickened as Albedo got out his laptop from his backpack. As he started it, Max knew that if he didn't initiate the conversation himself, it would never happen at all. And if even half of what Azmuth was planning came to pass, the boy would be learning to talk by force. It was better to ease him into it.

"I'm guessing you've been piecing together what Azmuth is planning, Albedo," Max said.

Albedo looked up briefly from his laptop. "Yes." His voice was clipped, and he immediately went back to work.

"And it's obvious you don't like it."

"The problem is that I have absolutely no choice in the matter. I've already accepted that. So now I've gotten this out in the air, mind telling me what the point of this is?"

Albedo's voice was dry and he looked like the perfect example of a poker face. As he started typing, he looked up and directly at a rearview mirror, giving Max a clear view of his bland expression. He looked back at what he was doing a second later. It may have been brief, but Max should have gotten a clear view of it.

"You should know that." Max's voice was carefully guarded. He had no idea what the boy had been trying to prove, but it couldn't be anything good.

"Please. I'm till figuring out just why I'm not still in prison by this point. There is truly no reasonable explanation that I can think of for this."

"You're not the only one with that opinion."

"Yes, Maxwell, I know that your grandson and his little team have the same mindset as I do. It makes very little sense that you're actually taking me to Bellwood, now that I think of it. You're acting entirely on Azmuth's wishes, aren't you?"

Max said nothing. He seemed to piecing things together quickly, but did he get the full picture? Azmuth had said that his former assistant worked better under predictable circumstances in familiar environments. But this was far from his regular environment.

However, all the misadventures he'd had could have made sure he was better at thinking on his feet.

"This is all meant to ensure that I have a low chance of escape, correct." Albedo said. He didn't ask, he stated it.

 _Speak of the devil,_ Max thought. "Yes. You're still a wild card in this situation."

 _No frills, no fuss. Azmuth did pick the right person for this._ "So, you're handing me off to your grandson's friend. If I didn't know any better, this was some sort of elaborate test. I'm very sure that his little team would fail the emotional control section when they hear this news."

"They're having a formal discussion on it later today."

Albedo smirked. "I can imagine that the reception will not be favorable."

Max kept quiet. It definitely wouldn't be received well, but apparently, his passenger could already detect that.

The pair relapsed into a slightly less antagonistic silence, though each side could still perceive the mistrust and speculation.

...--...

If the atmosphere in the Rustbucket was tense, the atmosphere in Kevin's garage was simply explosive. Max had received the message with little argument, knowing that Azmuth would know what he was doing, even if he didn't personally agree.

Less could be said for Ben, Gwen and Kevin.

"Are you joking? You have to be joking, Azmuth. How is Albedo supposed to help in any of this? We're talking about a crime spree, not mad science!" Ben glared at the holographic representation of the Galvan hovering over the Omnitrix.

"I have to agree with Ben there," Gwen replied. "These crimes have very little to do with him."

"Sure it has anything to do with Albedo himself, or what he was doing?" Kevin asked. Ben and Gwen turned to look at him. He was leaning against his car, while Ben and Gwen were closer to the wall in front of him.

"Think about it. He's good with tech, and he can actually plan out his schedule well. He managed to create a knockoff Omnitrix, for one, and team up with Vilgax for a second. Really, change a few bad decisions, and we could still be running around trying to get at him.

"The crimes going on lately aren't exactly average. Tech going missing from high-security vaults, important figures getting either kidnapped or killed, and these mass raids…" he shook his head. "This is too widespread for some nobody gangs to have cooked up."

Azmuth nodded. "I trust that Albedo has some contacts around that specific crime niche. And even if he didn't, he would still be able to navigate through it almost as easily as Kevin could." That was high praise, seeing as Kevin was particularly well-known in criminal circles.

"Besides, some of my contacts have been talking about a parole on some weird circumstances. It was covered up pretty heavily, and it's like other inmates in the same prison have been bribed to keep their mouths shut." Kevin crossed his arms.

"Why?" Ben asked. "What, does he have anyone targeting him?"

"Tennyson, as soon as you've been into crime, someone practically always has your name on their radar. Even petty thieves could find themselves being monitored by higher-tier crooks."

"Who would possibly target him? He's a nobody!"

"I was, too, and l got the chance to team up with Vilgax of all people, because we had a common goal. It's not really the person, it's how they end up. And you might remember he built a knockoff Omnitrix. If he didn't have connections, how'd he gotten the materials to make it?"

Silence reigned for a few seconds.

"Fine." Ben relented. "But, really, are things that bad right now?"

"When most planets in this galaxy have gone into high lockdown?" Azmuth asked. "With the fact that Earth has started the process to becoming a free system, it is soon going to become one of the biggest vacation spots in recent years. It is a planet rich in valuable resources and a society almost untouched by galactic attitudes and technology." he paused, letting it sink in.

"That sounds good, doesn't it? But it isn't completely. Rebel groups from other planets could turn it into their meeting base. Then, when the government is hunting them down, the planet could be implicated for housing terrorists. Unknowingly or not, that will not matter. Illegal mines and factories could be set up. Earth could become a pathway for smuggling to go undetected.

"Also, remember that humans are weak compared to other alien species, with a near-total lack of abilities. Some of the more barbaric species could exploit that. There is already a portion of your society guilty of human trafficking. It could be extended to other planets, and woe betide the victims. Intergalavtic alien trafficking is far worse than whatever your planet could offer up." At that, they went pale.

"This is not just about my former apprentice. This concerns your entire planet."

They were silent.


End file.
